Hebrew word · H7645

שְׁבַנְיָהוּ

shevanyah

Shebaniah

A theophoric name, meaning a name that contains God's name: here the ending -yah, for YHWH. The meaning of the first part (šbn) is disputed. Proposed meanings include "YHWH has drawn near" and "YHWH has brought back," and none is certain.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.9.4

§ Shebaniah = "increased by Jehovah"

1) a Levite who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah

2) a priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah

3) a 2nd Levite who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah

4) a priest appointed by David to blow with the trumpets before the ark of God

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Nehemiah 12:14

Range of meaning

A theophoric name, meaning a name that contains God's name: here the ending -yah, for YHWH. The meaning of the first part (šbn) is disputed. Proposed meanings include "YHWH has drawn near" and "YHWH has brought back," and none is certain.

Against the English

Most English versions print "Shebaniah." Some harmonise it to "Shecaniah" to match 12:3.

Used elsewhere in the period

The name is used for Levites and priests in Neh 9:4–5 and 10:4, 10, 12, and for a priest in 1 Chr 15:24. Shecaniah, the near-twin form, is frequent in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 15:24 וּשְׁבַנְיָ֡הוּ and Shebaniah

    Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer—the priests—were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be guardians of the ark.

Nehemiah · 6

  1. Nehemiah 9:4 שְׁבַנְיָ֛ה Shebaniah

    And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.

  2. Nehemiah 9:5 שְׁבַנְיָ֣ה Shebaniah

    Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

    Here: A Levite named in both v. 4 and v. 5. The meaning is uncertain; 'YHWH has brought back' is one suggestion.

  3. Nehemiah 10:4 שְׁבַנְיָ֖ה Shebaniah

    Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

  4. Nehemiah 10:10 שְׁבַנְיָ֧ה Shebaniah

    and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

    Here: A Levite who, in Nehemiah 9:4–5, stood on the Levites' platform and called the people to praise and confession. The name contains a short form of God's name (-yah). The first part is unclear; a common suggestion is "Yah has come near" or "Yah has brought back." The same name appears again in 10:12, so there may have been two Levites called Shebaniah, or the list repeats one.

  5. Nehemiah 10:12 שְׁבַנְיָֽה׃ Shebaniah

    Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

  6. Nehemiah 12:14 לִשְׁבַנְיָ֖ה of Shebaniah

    of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

    Here: Again the lə- marks an ancestral house. This is the house listed as Shecaniah in 12:3 and as Shebaniah among those who sealed the covenant in 10:4. The name ends in -yah, a short form of YHWH; what the first part means is uncertain.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.